Food Labelling

To Whom Does This Apply?

All producers, manufacturers, advertisers, importers and retailers of food products are subject to food labelling requirements.

Summary

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) administers the federal labelling requirements for prepackaged foods under the Food and Drugs Act and Regulations and the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act and Regulations.

Some prepackaged foods are also subject to the labelling requirements of the regulations under the Canada Agricultural Products Act, the Meat Inspection Act, the Fish Inspection Act, the Weights and Measures Act and, in a few cases, provincial acts and regulations.

A "prepackaged" product means any food that is contained in a package in the manner in which it is ordinarily sold to, used by, or purchased by, a consumer or by a commercial enterprise, without being repackaged.

A "label" includes any legend, word or mark attached to, included in, belonging to or accompanying any food.

Basic Labelling Requirement for Prepackaged Foods:

• All of the information on food labels must be true, not misleading or deceptive.
• All prepackaged food products require a mandatory and standardized nutrition facts table listing calories and 13 nutrients (fat, saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrate, fibre, sugars, protein, calcium, iron, and vitamins A and C) for a specified amount of food. Some exceptions may apply.
• All prepackaged products must meet specific requirements for nutrient content claims (e.g., "free of trans fatty acids" or "low sodium").
• All mandatory information on food labels must be shown in both French and English. Some exceptions may apply.
• The common name must be shown on the principal display panel of the food label in both French and English.
• Prepackaged products must have a net quantity declaration in metric units, in both French and English. Some exceptions may apply.
• The name and address of the responsible party by or for whom a prepackaged product is manufactured or produced must be declared on any label panel in either French or English.
• When a product packaged for sale to consumers has been wholly produced or manufactured outside of Canada and the label carries the name and address of a Canadian dealer, the terms "imported by/importé par" or "imported for/importé pour" must precede this address, unless the geographic origin of the product or the name and address of the foreign manufacturer is placed immediately adjacent to the Canadian name and address.
• Prepackaged multi-ingredient foods require an ingredient list (extra care may be needed in regards to food allergens). Some exceptions may apply.
• Information on artificial flavours must appear on the food label (on the vignette or close to it) in both French and English, when an illustration suggests the presence of a natural substance.
• A durable life date is required, in both French and English, on prepackaged foods with a durable life of 90 days or less, e.g., Best before/Meilleur avant: JL 24 (for the 24th of July). Some exceptions may apply.
• Container sizes are standardized for certain foods prepackaged for sale to consumers, e.g., wine, peanut butter, glucose syrups.

Other mandatory information may be required depending on the food or types of claims being made. As with all mandatory information on labels, such statements must be in both French and English.

Labels of shipping containers, such as those for commercial, industrial or institutional use require a net quantity declaration in either metric or Canadian measure; other mandatory information such as the common name, the list of ingredients, etc. are also required to appear in at least one official language. Bilingualism is optional in this instance.

Imported products must meet the same labelling requirements as foods produced in Canada.

Retailers are also legally obligated to ensure that the products they sell are compliant with the appropriate regulations.

Food Allergens

The Food and Drug Regulations require a complete and accurate list of ingredients and their components on the label of most prepackaged foods. There are some exemptions to this requirement. For example, certain components of the ingredients used in making sandwiches may be exempt from declaration under the Regulations. However, a prepackaged food product labelled with a list of ingredients is unsafe for people with food allergies if some of those ingredients or components are priority allergens and are not declared on the label. Failure to declare allergenic components may be contrary to Subsection 5(1) of the Food and Drugs Act and Subsection 7(1) of the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act. These products may therefore be subject to regulatory measures taken by the CFIA, including a product recall.

Most allergic reactions are caused by the following foods and their derivatives:

• Peanuts
• Tree nuts (almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts [filberts], macadamia nuts, pecans, pine nuts, pistachios, walnuts)
• Sesame seeds
• Milk
• Eggs
• Seafood (fish, crustaceans, shellfish)
• Soy
• Wheat
• Sulphite

Made in Canada and Product of Canada

As part of the Food and Consumer Safety Action Plan, the Government of Canada has committed to reviewing the policy on the use of "Product of Canada" and "Made in Canada" claims on food labels and in advertising.

The revised guidelines will came into effect December 31, 2008. It is recognized that many products produced or manufactured before this date may already be on store shelves. However, it is expected that all products produced after this date would comply with the new guidelines.

The new Canadian Food Labelling Initiative aims to improve the definition of Product of Canada and Made in Canada on food labels and advertising. This will ensure that Canadians can be clearer about the food products they purchase. More information can be found at: 

http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/fssa/labeti/prodcan/prodcane.shtml

Additional Information

The Single Access Food Labelling Service provides the Canadian agri-food industry, importers and exporters with a single access service for food label review and advice on labelling issues. This special service has been assigned to the CFIA for all food products. You may also see the Guide to Food Labelling and Advertising on its Web site and Health Canada's Guide to Developing Accurate Nutrient Values.

DISCLAIMER
Information contained in this section is of a general nature only and is not intended to constitute advice for any specific fact situation. For particular questions, the users are invited to contact their lawyer. For additional information, see contact(s) listed below.

Manitoba Contact(s):
Canadian Food Inspection Agency
Room 613
269 Main Street
Winnipeg, Manitoba  R3C 1B2
Telephone: 204-983-2200
Fax: 204-984-6008
Web site: http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/toce.shtml